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cazzy, you have to hit the tourist traps for the kids but then head to the east or west coast for the vacation part. If you head this way let me know and I'll get some info for you and if you stay at Tuckaway they have the XL egg and a great seafood place just down the road so you'll cut your food bill in half.

@cazzy, here's another idea for your family Florida vacation. When the Grands were here we took them to Cocoa Beach for a surfing lesson. They LOVED it. A tiny little sweet Jessica gave them their lesson and the eleven year old had a giant smile for two solid hours. They never came out of the water. They rode their wave in and paddled right back out to Jessica. They had a great time. On the way home we stopped at Ron Jon's and it was a great day. Have fun and enjoy Florida. ;;)

Every day is a bonus day and every meal is a banquet in Winter Springs, Fl !

Book your character meals now. Giordono's in Kissimmee has great Chicago style pizza for something different.

Everyone here so far has knocked Disney. We have always loved it. Some of our best memories are from our trips there. It's expensive but really no more than any other type of entertainment. When you see your little one in awe of everything it will be worth it.

Universal definitely has better rides. The spiderman rude is great. Take a few of the water bottles with the fan attached... Lifesaver.

Book your character meals now. Giordono's in Kissimmee has great Chicago style pizza for something different.

Everyone here so far has knocked Disney. We have always loved it. Some of our best memories are from our trips there. It's expensive but really no more than any other type of entertainment. When you see your little one in awe of everything it will be worth it.

Universal definitely has better rides. The spiderman rude is great. Take a few of the water bottles with the fan attached... Lifesaver.

Yeah, we're no what we're getting into and are looking forward to it. From a heat standpoint, it's going to be a break from the 100+ heat we've had the last few weeks.

You may consider an overnight in tampa. Busch gardens has the best rides in the south and a nice zoo to go along. Great waterpark next door. Also disney is 90 min from Clearwater beach. Gulf temp is 86 degrees. Like a big bath tub. If you come to tampa best BBQ is Pit Boss. Hands down

You may consider an overnight in tampa. Busch gardens has the best rides in the south and a nice zoo to go along. Great waterpark next door. Also disney is 90 min from Clearwater beach. Gulf temp is 86 degrees. Like a big bath tub. If you come to tampa best BBQ is Pit Boss. Hands down

If you did make it to the Clearwater area, let me know. I'll meet up with you over a nice cheesesteak at Declo's.

So, I was at Disney and Epcot last week. We've been to Universal (both parks) twice in the past year.

Epcot was remarkably uncrowded - particularly in the World Showcase. It doesn't have the appeal/excitement that the other parks have but I still like it.

The Magic Kingdom is still fun during the day and is magical at night. The Electrical Parade and fireworks show are spectacular... and I worked the parade for 11 years.

Depending on your kids' stamina, I still recommend getting a character breakfast reservation (BOOK NOW) at the Contemporary on the morning that you want to go to the Magic Kingdom. Park at the Contemporary (saves you $15) for your breakfast, then take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Get a parade position on Main Street about 8:40 and watch the parade and the subsequent video show (projected on to the front of the castle - it's very cool) and fireworks. Then head toward the front of the park with 60,000 of your closest friends and leave them as soon as you exit by turning left and walking to your car at the Contemporary - passing the hour long lines for the monorail and ferry boat.

We were the first family at epcot one morning.... They gave us official first family buttons, took us to the rides before the park opened, took us to the front of the line for a few hours, lakeside seats for the evening show, etc....

Next day, the 4th of July... All wearing matching Disney shirts, they pulled us out of the crowd to help open the park plus move to the front of the line passes.

Jake was too young to tide the Tower of Terror so they gave him a bellhop uniform and let him work the ride.

Helluva vacation.

@cazzy... The castle character breakfast has all the Disney princesses. On a side note... Muriel was filling up her seashell top... My favorite attraction.

I'll jump on the Epcot bandwagon. Though it wasn't as flashy and in-your-face as the other parks, we hit Epcot at the low point of our Disney vacation. Included were me, my wife, our boys, her sister, her sister's girlfriend, father in law and his girlfriend. I was so tired of the heat, the resulting whiny kids, as was everyone else. I saw a meltdown coming, so we just decided to go our separate ways at the World Showcase. We got the kids' faces painted, and my wife picked up the largest margarita I've ever seen from "Mexico". I opted for a Beck's from a lovely fraulein in "Germany". The fact that it wasn't as crowded, and we could just walk around the water made it wonderful. The attractions were pretty impressive as well. (I want to say one was called Flight, and the other was Mission to Mars).

Our vacation was a ball, and you'll have a blast. That place is incredible. I was constantly entertained, even when standing in line for rides. For most of us, it's a once or twice in a lifetime experience. Take advantage of it! If I could do it again, I wouldn't be as concerned with money. I spent a lot, but it didn't kill me.

@Foghorn Contemporary is listed as Quick Service so I don't see anywhere to book a Dining Reservation.

@henapple My son is a crazy Disney Junior fan and my 14 year old doesnt seem too interested in princesses anymore. We did book a character reservation at Hollywood & Vine so he can see Jake, Handy Mandy, Captain Osi, and June. It will definitely make his day...or scare the **** out of him. We will see. That's first family thing sounds pretty awesome! Some good luck was on your side to accomplish that.

We did the Princess dining when my daughter was 5 and she enjoyed it. Definitely think the non costume characters will interact much more, but those don't interest him. Another dining that would be cool would be the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...if they have it.

@SaltySam The "Flight" ride you're talking about is called Soarin' and definitely was one of my favorite rides. We will hit that one up again!

I've been to Disney 12 times. Epcot, Universal, Sea World ect many many times too. My dad had a dental convention in Orlando every year growing up so he would take my brother and I and buy us park hopper passes and let us run wild on our own. Big mistake on his part.

@cazzy, the restaurant in the Contemporary with the character breakfast is Chef Mickey's. It is an all-you-can eat buffet. The food rivals some of the better mass Sunday brunches I've had over the years (think Hyatt Hill Country or equivalent).

@cazzy, the restaurant in the Contemporary with the character breakfast is Chef Mickey's. It is an all-you-can eat buffet. The food rivals some of the better mass Sunday brunches I've had over the years (think Hyatt Hill Country or equivalent).

Breakfast is all booked up. Will have to make sure we hit next time. Sounds pretty awesome...much better breakfast menu than Hollywood and Vine. Where were you when I started this thread? haha

When you go to the Magic Kingdom at night, if you are not parked at the Contemporary then leaving after the fireworks is a very poor option. The better option is to ride some rides during the 9:00 parade and get out to Main Street by 9:45 to watch the light show and fireworks - then watch the 11:00 parade and call it a night. About 75% of the crowd leaves after the fireworks at the same time and getting on a monorail at that time takes almost an hour.

When you go to the Magic Kingdom at night, if you are not parked at the Contemporary then leaving after the fireworks is a very poor option. The better option is to ride some rides during the 9:00 parade and get out to Main Street by 9:45 to watch the light show and fireworks - then watch the 11:00 parade and call it a night. About 75% of the crowd leaves after the fireworks at the same time and getting on a monorail at that time takes almost an hour.

Man, you're like a pro! We will definitely follow your advice! Good looking out!

That plan is almost perfect...there just isn't a parade at 11pm on that day:

And technically I am a pro. I worked in that parade for 11 years - wearing the costumes, driving the floats, etc.

It's an incredibly well-planned ordeal. Pay attention to the light and sound details. Listen to the main theme music from the speakers on the street and how it blends with the music from each section from the parade. It is synchronously broadcast over different FM frequencies from the castle - which is essentially a giant broadcast antenna - in 63 second loops. The opening announcement will play and then the lights for that section of the parade will go down EXACTLY at the time that the first float comes into view for that section of the parade. Hitting your mark with that first float is a challenge that requires being on a radio headset with spotters on the street and the guy in the castle who pushes the button for the opening announcement about 45 seconds before you hit the spot.

And out of over 600,000 lights on the floats it is extremely rare to see any of them not working because each light gets checked 3 times a day.

Overall, it is remarkable that they can pump out a parade of that magnitude up to 3 times a day.

what would you say the perfect age is to take your kids to Disney... I lived in Clearwater for 3 1/2 yrs while me and my wife were still dating- busch gardens rocks... we would go to Disney/busch when family came in etc.. now I have twin 3year olds and a 1yr old... I am thinking when they are 7 and he will be 5... or 8 and 6.. I want the girls to have that magical experience with the princesses, etc and I want him to be old enough to be well- not so crabby all day

@XLBalco, you are right on target. Younger than 4 is probably too young to really get a lot out of it. 7 and 5 or 8 and 6 is perfect. I found out last week that 18 and 16 is still pretty great. Did one trip with a 13/14 year old soccer team and that worked too. Of course, when you have connections and can get the whole team on floats with Mickey, Goofy, etc. in the Animal Kingdom parade it's hard for the experience to be anything but wildly positive.

But as they get older, the more exciting rides at Universal have more appeal.